Inside the Mind of a Hacker

Can anybody recommend a good book or site that may go into the psyche of a hacker or maybe explain why they do it? I know alot are pretty narcisistic but i want to know why some people get into as deep as they do or maybe anything on spammers,malware spreaders and other deviant s#*t's :*** that tend to make life miserable! :boxing

 

im guessing because they have no life & it's all they havemad:mad

 

Well I pretty much have no life but I dont go around doing prickish things to people cause i'm bored. I am assuming you dont and neither do the majority of the online community.

 

i have met a guy that has done hacking and when asked why he said it's a challenge to see if i can break into a system he also said he does not do malware (i don't know whether to believe him or not).

i am a pleasure surfer and have nothing of importance on the laptop so i do not mind looking in sites that are shall we say dubious and have seen plenty of downloads (never downloaded one)I.E hacking for beginners explaining how to create a virus/worm so it's not hard for the idiots to get hold of this technology and just go out there and create havoc.

if i download anything it always comes from here or a reputable site (Microsoft ha ha) or other such places and at least i know it's safe.

the malware idiots should be castigated (or castrated) for the good of genuine surfers.

 

thanx Halo

 

I used to be a hacker, that is, I explored the innards of my computer and tried to get it to do things no one else has with software. The term originally derived from writers from the 1950's, who spent endless hours at their typewriter keyboards writing novels (that didn't pay very well) to make a living. It also refereed to newspaper writers for more or less the same reason.

The media, which at it's best doesn't discriminate and at its worst lies, couldn't be bother to do the research, and so couldn't be bothered to distinguish between the various types of hacking.

I basically stopped because my life became so busy that something had to give. The art is still alive and well however. The end result for me is I know several dialects of machine language, the most basic of all computer languages, all for 8 bit computers though, which aren't used much anymore except for specialty uses.

 

Well what are the various types of hacking? if you could be so kind as to explain because i thought hacking was hacking? :confused i know some say they dont spread viruses or malware but...... you have to forgive my ignorance as you said most media outlets never bothered to do research and that's where i have gotten most of my knowledge on the subject from but now i am trying to get a better understanding of the personna behind it.

 

I think the main distinction between good and bad hackers is the way they use the tools/skills. If I can unlock a car door in a few seconds, I can steal a bunch of stuff, or I can start a company like Pop A Lock, and help people who are locked out of their car. The media just lumps them all in one group 'hacker'.

White Hat and Black Hat would be 2 kinds of hacker. Let's say they are both able to bypass a network's security and gain access to a companies files. A Black Hat hacker might steal the info for identity theft or to hurt the company. A company might hire a White Hat hacker to find vulnerabilities in the companies network, and help them secure it.

I am sure the people that make firewalls and anti-virus software could whip together a pretty good virus...

Interesting subject.

E

 

Go to www.vtc.com and check out their "Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing" course. You can go through the first few sections for free

 

Ya it is an interesting subject, one i have been interested in but never got any real answers from alot of people either they didnt know what they were talking about :crap or the ones that did have alot of knowledge on the subject may have had somethin to hide because they tended to clam up when i asked.Though there are quite alot of hackers who with the final goal of getting themselves a high paying consult job ,have caused some pretty serious havoc out there :tas ,correct??

 

Though there are quite alot of hackers who with the final goal of getting themselves a high paying consult job ,have caused some pretty serious havoc out there ,correct??

I think you are spot on on that. If I hire an 'ex' burgler to secure my house, how do I know he is not casing the place out to rob later on? Kinda like the old sword vs. shield, you have to know how to swing the sword to see if the shield will hold... But just because you know how to do something does not mean that you have done it. Interesting, can make me think in loops...

E

 

ya its got me spinning as well but i think as far as the type of person that hacks for whatever their reason must be a pretty narcisistic person ie: someone that assumes they are smarter than everyine else,someone that thinks they wont get caught,someone that thinks what they are doing maybe the right thing ie: sticking it to MS and other big software comps or gov servers and such ?

 

Look for a book called The Art of Deception and The Art of Intrusion both by Kevin Mitnick.

 

While it used to be about LULZ and curiosity, todays hackers have one motivation - money.
Most malware anymore doesn't play a prank, it loads spyware, botjackers and email harvesters.
While there is an unlimited supply of "free" software available, the latest hardware costs big bucks.
I don't see any legitamate purpose for these activities.
You don't go on a crime spree to learn how to be a cop.
If you want to fight these people I think it would be a better idea to join Tom Coyote or Malware U.

 

I think i have to agree with most of what you are saying, and you are right in regards to the latest hardware you have to sell your first born to be able to stay on top of all the new tech. But I think you definitely can get a better understanding of a sociopath by getting into his psyche but in no way or shape would i ever condone acting out as they do it would be absurd to try and justify committing crimes to catch criminal which does happen all the time in our society.

 

Again, you have to distinguish between different types of hacking. People who are just out to learn, and focus on their personal machines are upstanding and legal. This is called White Hat, although I don't necessarily buy into the labels. Grey Hat are people who do things that can be illegal, but not for malicious reasons, again to learn the art. Black Hats are the bad guys, the vandals and extortionists.

To really learn computers does require some serious time in front of a keyboard. This is what hacking fundimentally is. There is no other way, that and lots and lots of reading.

 

ya i definitely get the whole label thing and like you said i don't buy into them either but i have to say even from what little info i have absorbed so far i just fail to see the distinction and i may be just a little hard headed but a hacker is a hacker is a hacker just because you have a fancy consult title to go with your acquired skills doesn't mean you not a criminal i my books you had to get the skills from somewhere and like put in at the end of your post you have to put some time in on the keyboard well if that time you spend on the keyboard is used to hack well your a criminal i spend allot of time reading on subjects that are deemed illegal by society and i have an extensive knowledge about some of them i didn't have to commit those crimes to gain thee knowledge it was acquired by reading and spending a lot of time in front of the keyboard probably too much but it was constructive time spent:banghead

but i see your point